A Forgotten Anniversary
by Ilmare-Ilse
Summary: When Steve goes back to the Hospital to give Danny his autograph, he's surprised by how he finds his friend. Set after 6x04.


A/N:Hey all! This one was a bit inspired by the last episode, but most of all by what happened on 5x04. In any case, expect some small spoilers for this season as well.

Enjoy!

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 **A Forgotten Anniversary**

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Steve needed to make one last stop before he could go back home. He had stopped by just a few hours ago, but he'd gotten Jerry Rice's autograph for Danny, and he wanted to see the look on Danny's face when he saw it.

As he was nearing Danny's room, he grew a bit concerned when he saw a nurse coming out the door, considering the worried look she sported. He moved quickly to catch up with her. "Excuse me Miss. I'm a friend of Danny's. Is everything ok with him?" He asked.

The nurse turned to look at Steve with a relieved smile. "Oh! He's doing well. He was a bit uncomfortable earlier; he had a headache and some back pain, so the doctor prescribed some pain killers…" She said, looking sadly at the door to Danny's room. "Maybe it's the drugs taking effect, coupled with the stress he must be through, but he's a bit upset. He's trying to pretend he's fine, but I think he could really use some company right now." She said, motioning for Steve to go in.

Steve's worry grew, and he moved towards the door with a nod. "Ok, I'll keep an eye on him. Thank you…" He said quietly.

The nurse smiled. "You're welcome. Just in case, the sofa turns into a small bed. Let me know if you need any more pillows or blankets." She said before moving back to the nurse station.

Steve shook his head in amusement, finally opening the door to Danny's room and entering. The room was dimly lit and while Danny was lying on his side, apparently asleep, Steve could see the tension on his friend's body and the minute trembling he was trying to hide. Before he could say anything Danny sighed. "Listen, I'm ok. I'm just trying to sleep, so can you please forget the last 15 minutes and just let me be?" He asked in annoyance, finally lifting his head to look at the door. He clearly wasn't expecting Steve to be standing there. "What are you doing here? You were going to the Sheraton with the team, weren't you?"

Steve nodded, moving to sit on the chair by the side of Danny's bed. "Yup, that's exactly where I was, I just ran into a friend while we were there, and he wanted me to give you a get well note…" He said, taking the autograph out of his pocket and giving it to Danny.

Danny took the restaurant menu, sitting up in his bed. He moved to turn on the overhead light and looked at the piece of paper. "Jerry Rice? THE Jerry Rice?!" He said in surprise. "You just had to run into one of my biggest football idols when I'm not around to see him, didn't you? Why'd you always have to do that, huh?" He ranted halfheartedly.

Steve shrugged, noticing now that the light was on that Danny's eyes were red rimmed, and that his friend kept looking away from him. "Well, next time I'm going to find some reason to book them and keep them in lockup until you can come over to see them in person, how's that sound?" He asked, lifting his eyebrows.

Danny just shook his head, leaving the piece of paper on the rolling table, next to a newspaper. "It sounds exactly like the crazy stuff you pull off on a daily basis… Anyways, thanks. This is great, Buddy…" He said without much enthusiasm.

Steve nodded, leaning back in his seat and studied his friend. "So? What's up?" He asked pointedly.

Danny glanced at him briefly before he reached for the remote and turned the TV on. "Nothing really, I was just trying to get some sleep before you showed up to rub it in…" He said, nodding at the autograph.

Steve looked at the TV and then back at Danny. "The nurse said that you had a headache…" He said casually.

Danny was still keeping his full attention on the TV. "Yeah, well, they gave me something and I'm all good now. In fact, as I told you before, I was just trying to get some sleep when you decided to interrupt me, so how long are you planning on sticking around?" he asked, picking up his phone from the side table and pressing the button to see the time on the screen, returning it to the table with a dejected sigh.

Steve shrugged. "Well, the nice nurse said that I could use that couch to sleep in, if I wanted to spend the night. She even offered to bring me pillows and blankets!" He said with a smile.

Danny groaned in annoyance, leaning back in his pillows and passing a tired hand down his face. "Seriously, not even in the hospital I get a break from your lunacy? Can't you just leave and let me be?" Danny said, turning to glare at his partner.

Steve nodded, leaning forward to catch Danny's eye. "Sure. I can totally go home. As soon as you tell me what's up…"

Danny narrowed his eyes and looked away. "You know what? You're a hypocrite, that's what you are!" He growled.

"A hypocrite, why the hell am I a hypocrite now?" Steve said in outrage.

Danny turned back to look at Steve, lifting his finger to point at his friend's chest. "You… You, my friend, have been walking around all week with that abandoned puppy look on your face, and while I understand that what happened sucks, and my first instinct is to show up at your place unannounced, I have tried to give you your space and I haven't pushed you to talk about feelings!" Danny said loudly.

Steve's eyebrows climbed to the top of his forehead. "You've been showing up at my place unannounced all freaking week!" Steve said, matching his friend's volume.

"Well, yes! But I just sat there, drinking a beer! And not once did I force you to talk about your feelings!" Danny retorted. His expression turned sheepish, finally looking down at the sheet. "Sorry, I just couldn't in good conscience leave you alone…" He said in a lower volume.

Steve sighed, nodding in agreement. "Alright. Yeah, you did give me space, and you didn't make me talk about things I didn't want to talk about. So I guess now I'm the one that should apologize. I know that this whole thing with Charlie is very stressful, and while I know you're trying to keep your hopes up, for once, it's still hard to see him in the hospital…" He said kindly, still studying his partner.

Danny shook his head, looking away again. "It's not that!" He said gruffly. "Or not just that…" He was silent for a long moment, sniffing softly. "It's been a year. And… and I forgot…" He finished softly, lifting his hand to pass it over his eye.

Steve frowned, trying to remember what they had done last year, when it suddenly clicked. Colombia. Matt.

With a sad sigh, Steve leaned forward, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Hey, Buddy. Listen, you can't beat yourself up over that… It… It happens. You had plenty of stuff on your plate, I'm sure your family will understand…" He said, trying to find the right words to comfort his friend.

Danny's shoulders shook, but he wouldn't look back at Steve. "What… what kind of person forgets the one year anniversary of his brother's-" he said gruffly, cutting himself off before he could finish.

Steve squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Hey… Hey… Don't beat yourself up, Buddy. You're only human, you had a ton of shit thrown on your shoulders. Besides, it's not like you've forgotten about Matt… It's just that the first anniversary sucks! You… You start to realize how much time has passed, it's a huge reminder that they're not here with you anymore, and to make things worse, you've move on somewhat, so you feel like shit for not thinking about them as much as you used to…" Steve said in understanding, growing a bit embarrassed when Danny suddenly looked back at him.

Danny was silent for a minute, trying to blink back tears. "I really miss him..." he admitted sadly.

"I know…" Steve said, moving his hand to rub Danny's arm in comfort.

"And I feel like crap… This whole thing sucks, and I want Charlie to get better already…" Danny grumbled, using the edge of the sheet to wipe his eyes.

"I know, Buddy." Steve said, reaching for some tissues and handing them to his partner.

Danny looked in annoyance at his friend, taking the tissues and blowing his nose. "And you suck too… You're awful at this whole 'not talking about feelings' thing…"

Steve nodded, finally leaning back in his seat. "Sorry about that, Danno…" He said with a sad smile.

Danny lied back down in his bed, groaning in discomfort. "I really need to get off my ass…" He muttered, moving gingerly to turn to his side on the bed. Steve helped him to a more comfortable position, lowering the bed and tucking the blankets around Danny's shoulders. "Did I mention that I hate this shit?" He muttered sleepily.

Steve nodded, moving back to sit on his chair again. "Yeah you did, Buddy, and it absolutely does. Now get some rest, you'll feel better in the morning…"

Danny nodded, blinking tiredly. "You staying?" He asked sleepily.

Steve nodded again. "I sure will, Buddy, if you can stand to see my ugly face in the morning…"

Danny nodded as well. "There's no microwave here, so we're good…" He said around a yawn. "Thanks man… You're a good friend…" He finished before he finally closed his eyes and was out.

Steve sat back, reaching for the paper and settled to keep an eye on his friend for the night. "Not as good as you, Danno."

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 **The End**

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A/N: Thank you all for reading!

This one came to me because I'm still grieving for Matt, and with no Danny in the last episode, the chances of anyone remembering poor Mattie plummeted to oblivion.

I'd really like to hear what you think of this one. Thanks again for stopping by!


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